Amy and John’s Wedding
The Great Hall at Te Matatiki Toi Ora The Arts Centre
Images by Susannah Blatchford Photography
‘We met officially at an emergency dress-up party at the Timaru Police Station. I went as Audrey Hepburn and John as a mysterious billionaire. With the encouragement of mutual friends we started dating. We were both working at Timaru Hospital at the start of our careers and little did we know the adventure we had signed up for.
‘After being together for seven years, John whisked me away to Tekapo. It was Boxing Day and although I’d been waiting for this moment for years, John still made it a surprise. He took me from my family home in Geraldine, on a surprise route to the airport. I had no idea what was going on. The pilot advised me to grab a jacket to put on as it might be chilly. Still unsure what was happening, we walked out the back into a helicopter! We flew over the stunning blue Lake Tekapo before landing on a mountain peak. John took out the ring and I said yes! We celebrated with champagne.
‘Wedding dress shopping can be so intimidating! I initially took my friend Katie to try on dresses to get an idea of the style I wanted. Then I booked in for a session with Trish Peng, accompanied by my mum and sisters. It was a very special time, trying on the beautiful gowns and Trish designing a semi-custom dress.
‘It was a difficult decision choosing where to get married as we’ve lived all over New Zealand, falling in love with every region. We love the South Island mountains and flirted with the idea of helicopter wedding photos in the snow. We decided to marry in the heart of Christchurch City as it has the most beautiful historic buildings, gardens and ambience. For the photos, we chose areas we can revisit with our future children and places that will live long into the history books, anchoring our families’ memories for years to come.
‘Our ceremony was very personal and special to us. Our celebrant Sean Joyce was amazing in aiding in the process. We wrote our own vows. We also chose a reading which felt really meaningful to us, read by my mum. Live music welcomed our guests with a vocalist, piano and violin – something we loved. We also had live music during the signing of the register.
‘Our reception was held in the Avon Room at the Town Hall – an iconic building with the Ferrier Fountains lit red, and incredible food and drinks all locally sourced. It was a true reflection of Canterbury and us. Kim Chan Events created a beautiful floral scene which brought me to tears as I walked into the reception – transforming our vision into reality. The floral arrangements had connections to both of our families. The evening ran so smoothly thanks to our amazing Venues Ōtautahi event manager Trish; we were so grateful we could relax with our significant others without any stress.’
Q&A
Advice for other couples?
Have a joint email account with your partner, where you can both see the correspondence from the vendors, and divide up tasks to complete.
Is there anything you’d do differently?
We would have looked into hiring the trams to go from venue to venue. Something we only discovered was possible post wedding.
Who was your standout vendor?
Our photographer Susannah Blatchford. We were so incredibly lucky to have Susie capture our day. She's so authentic and personable, making everyone feel at ease, allowing for natural looking photos. She brought such a fun, uplifting energy whilst keeping us on time which was much needed as the day can get stressful. Susie had taken the time to know us, and was proactive in capturing all the details that were important to us.
